UK to release internal guidance procedures for HSMP in May

Work Permits (UK), the government authority on migrant workers, has stated that it will release information in May on the internal guidance its caseworkers use in assessing applicants for the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) in response to a number of Freedom of Information Act requests.

Originally intended to be released sometime in January or February, they have decided to delay the release to coincide with their first "full revision" of the guidance implementing lessons learned from the past. They also state that delaying publication will keep those who have requested the information at different times from getting different information.

The Highly Skilled Migrant Programme has been incredibly popular since it was introduced in 2002. The points based system used to assess applicants has undergone some changes over the years. The last changes to the program were implemented on 05 December 2006 and caused some controversy by applying new criteria to those already in the United Kingdom on HSMP when their applications were up for renewal.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has recommended reducing the number of available occupations for non- EU skilled migrants to 190,000; This is the number of people working in the UK in the new...